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A park in Seattle’s Chinatown International District could be renamed after Donnie Chin, a neighborhood-safety activist killed in a shooting last year.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray is launching a process to rename International Children’s Park after Chin, the longtime director of the International District Emergency Center.

The process will include consultation with the Seattle Board of Park Commissioners. Existing policy requires that a person be deceased for a minimum of three years before a park may be named in his or her honor. The mayor said he will seek an exception.

“We are very pleased to be able to honor Donnie, a hero in the Chinatown International District community and the entire city,” Murray said in a news release.

“This is a fitting memorial for a man who dedicated his life to serving the children and residents of the neighborhood he loved.”

The park at 700 S. Lane St. was built in 1981 and substantially renovated in 2012. Chin was a champion for its creation starting in the 1970s, the mayor said.

Murray will ask the City Council to approve a resolution backing the name change. Councilmembers Bruce Harrell and Debora Juarez have already voiced support.

Police have yet to make an arrest in Chin’s death. The 59-year-old was responding to an early-morning report of gunshots on July 23 when he was caught in a crossfire between rival groups, police have said.